Exclusive delivery of content within geographic areas

ABSTRACT

Application developers can request to have their applications registered for use with a content delivery platform. The operator of the content delivery platform establishes perimeters defining geographic areas, and maintains records reserving particular areas for delivery of content associated with particular sponsors. Registered applications running on mobile devices can request content from the content delivery platform. Based at least in part on the request, the content delivery platform can identify a target location, which may be the location of the mobile device, or some other location indicated in the request. A mobile device can be provided content based on the relationship of the target location to the geographic areas, so that a registered application running on a mobile device with a target location contained within a geographic area assigned to a particular sponsor will receive content related to that sponsor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This continuation patent application claims priority from co-pendingUnited States Non-provisional patent application having Ser. No.15/694,786, filed 2 Sep. 2017, entitled “EXCLUSIVE DELIVERY OF CONTENTWITHIN GEOGRAPHIC AREAS”, which claims priority from co-pending UnitedStates Non-provisional patent application having Ser. No. 15/009,961,filed 29 Jan. 2016, entitled “EXCLUSIVE DELIVERY OF CONTENT WITHINGEOGRAPHIC AREAS”, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,779,418 issued on 3 Oct. 2017,which claims priority from co-pending United States Non-provisionalpatent application having Ser. No. 14/608,285, filed 29 Jan. 2015,entitled “EXCLUSIVE DELIVERY OF CONTENT WITHIN GEOGRAPHIC AREAS”, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,286,625 issued on 15 Mar. 2016, which claims priorityfrom co-pending United States Non-provisional patent application havingSer. No. 13/856,392, filed 3 Apr. 2013, entitled “EXCLUSIVE DELIVERY OFCONTENT WITHIN GEOGRAPHIC AREAS”, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,977,247 issued on10 Mar. 2015, which claims priority from co-pending United StatesNon-provisional patent application having Ser. No. 12/434,094, filed 1May 2009, entitled “EXCLUSIVE DELIVERY OF CONTENT WITHIN GEOGRAPHICAREAS”, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,433,296 issued on 30 Apr. 2013, all having acommon applicant herewith and being incorporated herein in theirentirety by reference.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to delivery of content, and moreparticularly to delivery of content within reserved geographic areas.

BACKGROUND

Advertisements can be delivered to various devices, including mobiledevices, within communications range of areas transmitters or otherinformation providers. For example, advertisements can be delivered tocellular phones within range of a particular cellular phone provider'snetwork area. Furthermore, advertisements can be delivered using digitalbillboards, or via the Internet, based on user interactions andpreferences.

When delivering advertisements and other content to some mobile devices,currently available technologies can broadcast the content to alldevices equipped to receive them. In some cases, advertisements arebroadcast to any mobile device within a city, or a similar area. Whendelivering non-broadcast content, for example via the Internet, it iscommon to deliver the content in response to a request, received fromthe receiving device. In some cases, push technology can be used todeliver content to multiple users concurrently.

In each of these cases, a mobile device can usually receive content frommultiple different content providers. Current technologies are,therefore, less than perfect.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments disclosed herein include registering an applicationprogram for use with a content delivery platform, establishing multipleperimeters defining respective geographic areas, and maintaining recordsassociating sponsors with particular geographic areas. The contentdelivery platform can receive a request from a registered applicationprogram for content to be displayed on a mobile device, and the requestcan be used to determine a target location. In some embodiments, asponsor is selected based on a relationship between the target locationand one or more reserved geographic areas. Content is then provided tothe application program.

In some embodiments, the content delivery platform can record a requestidentifier associated with a received request, and provide the requestidentifier to the mobile device to assist in tracking future actionsrelating to the request for content. The content delivery platform canalso receive information related to user interaction with the providedcontent, including the request identifier, and provide additionalcontent in response to the received information.

Content can be delivered to a mobile device running a registeredapplication if a target location is at least partially within apredetermined radial distance of a geographical area associated with asponsor; if the mobile device is not located within the predeterminedradial distance, the radial distance can be increased. In someembodiments, content is delivered if the target location, e.g. thelocation of the mobile device or another location of interest, islocated entirely within a geographic area exclusively reserved by aparticular sponsor. In some embodiments, the content delivery platformcan select from among several sponsors in deciding which content todeliver to a mobile device.

In at least one embodiment, the content delivery system reservesexclusive interests in geographic areas for particular sponsors based onthe sponsors' requests, and store a record of that interest. In someembodiments, the content delivery system receives, from a sponsor,content to be delivered to mobile devices based on a target locationbeing positioned within particular geographic areas. The contentdelivery system can also reserve an interest in geographic areas thatremain unreserved by other sponsors. Furthermore, some embodimentsinclude time based restrictions.

Various embodiments can be implemented as a system that includes memory,a communications interface, and a processor that cooperate to store andexecute a program of instructions implementing various methods andtechniques described herein. Furthermore, some embodiments can beimplemented as a computer readable medium tangibly embodying a programof instructions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an abstract representation of exclusive content delivery toparticular reserved areas according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a target location other than thelocation of the mobile device executing a registered application,according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a graph representing expanded search areas to determine whichcontent is delivered according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reserving a geographicarea according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating registration of an application forcontent delivery according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating delivery of content to particularapplications in a reserved area according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a processing system according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide for deliveringcontent, such as advertising, to registered applications being run onany of various mobile electronic devices configured to be readily moved,carried, or otherwise transported between different various geographicareas defined by perimeters. Sponsors can reserve an exclusive interest,or in some embodiments a semi-exclusive interest, in a geographic area,so that other sponsors' advertisements are excluded from being broadcastor otherwise provided to a registered program being executed on a mobiledevice located within a reserved geographic area.

Referring first to FIG. 1, system 100, is illustrated. System 100 canprovide for exclusive delivery of advertising or other content toregistered applications running on mobile devices located within aparticular proximity to a reserved geographic area. System 100, asillustrated, includes content delivery platform 112, which is incommunication with developer platform 108, and systems or individualsoperating under control of sponsor A 121, sponsor C 123, and sponsor B125. Content delivery platform 112 receives a request from developerplatform 108 to register a program or other application for use onmobile devices. Content delivery platform 112 can use the registeredapplication program to provide selected content to mobile devices.

In some embodiments, a registered application program is provided tomobile devices by developer platform 108, content delivery platform 112,one of sponsor A 121, sponsor C 123, or sponsor B 125, or by anotherdesired delivery mechanism. In some embodiments, registering theapplication program with content delivery platform 112 allows developer108 to receive revenue from sponsor A 121, sponsor C 123, or sponsor B125 for content displayed on a mobile device located within, or inproximity to, a geographical area reserved by one or more of thesponsors.

Sponsor A 121, sponsor C 123, or sponsor B 125 can reserve an exclusiveinterest in a particular geographic area by sending a request to contentdelivery platform 112. In some embodiments, the request can be forexclusive delivery of content to mobile devices running any registeredapplication within given geographic areas, or for content to bedelivered to particular registered applications based on a targetlocation. The request can also include time limitations, limitationsbased on the length of time a mobile device remains within a givengeographic area, or other desired limitations. Furthermore, the reservedinterest can be either completely exclusive, or semi-exclusive.

System 100 can include a network, for example Internet 131, throughwhich content delivery platform 112, can communicate to other networkeddevices; and communication towers 144, which can include AM or FMbroadcast towers, mobile telephone stations, or other suitablecommunication infrastructure, including satellites (not illustrated)that might be useful in providing content based on a target location.Content delivery platform 112 can use this communication infrastructureto communicate with various computing devices, including portablecomputer 179, which may include laptop computers, desktop computers,palmtop computers, tablet computers, digital video recorders (DVRs),television set-top boxes, or any of various general or dedicated purposecomputers that can be carried or transported; wireless device 177, whichcan include personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular telephones,personal communication system (PCS) devices, music players, videoplayers, gaming consoles, or portable televisions; or any of variousdevices that may be included in, or carried by, motor vehicles 171, 173,or 175, including navigation systems, satellite radios, or the like. Itshould be noted that the term “mobile device” can include all computingdevices as listed above that can communicate with content deliveryplatform 112, that the above listing of devices is not exhaustive, andthat a device that qualifies as one type of device may also beconsidered to be of another type. For example, a mobile phone may alsobe a general purpose computing device, a radio, a television, and anavigation system.

Still referring to FIG. 1, consider first motor vehicle 171, which islocated within sponsor A's reserved geographic area 143. A driver offirst motor vehicle 171 can receive advertisements or other content fromSponsor A via a registered application running on a radio, a PDA, acellular telephone, a laptop, or a global positioning navigation device(none of which are specifically illustrated). In this example, becausefirst motor vehicle 171 is located within sponsor A's reservedgeographic area 143, content delivery platform 121 provides contentexclusively related to sponsor A 121; advertisements or other contentfrom sponsor C 123 and sponsor B 125 can be excluded.

Portable computer 179 can be connected to Internet 131 via a hardwirednetwork connection, a Wi-Fi connection or other suitable communicationconnection. In some embodiments, if portable computer 179 is running aregistered program application, the user of portable computer 179 willreceive content related exclusively to sponsor A as long as he is withinsponsor A's reserved geographic area 143. In some embodiments, thedriver of first motor vehicle 171 and the user of laptop 179 will stillbe able to receive advertisements from other sponsors through devicesnot running a program that has been registered on content deliveryplatform 112, or through non-registered programs running on the samedevice.

In some embodiments, the location of mobile devices, or another targetlocation, can be determined using various suitable methods. For example,a mobile device running a registered application can provide locationinformation to content delivery platform 112 in the form of latitude orlongitude coordinates, raw or processed GPS data, or other locationinformation received and recorded by either the device itself or anotherdevice. In some embodiments, a target location, e.g. the location of amobile device, can be determined based on signals received from cellulartransmission towers, satellites, or methods such as triangulation ordead reckoning, or by IP address. Content delivery platform 112 canreceive the location of mobile devices from a third source, for examplea location provider, a cellular telephone network provider, or a thirdparty tracking source, rather than from the mobile device itself. Thus,the location of a mobile device can be received from the mobile device,determined by content delivery platform 112, received from a third-partysource, or determined based on a combination of these or other methods.

Sponsor A's reserved geographic area 143 illustrates an embodiment inwhich a perimeter can be defined by streets, county boundaries, cityboundaries, landmarks, or other features commonly found on maps. Incontrast, sponsor B's reserved geographic area 145 can be an ellipse,circle, oval, or other geometric shape that can be determined, at leastin part, based on a radius.

In this example, both second motor vehicle 173 and wireless device 177are located within sponsor B's reserved geographic area 145. The driverof second motor vehicle 173 and the user of wireless device 177 canreceive advertisements or other content via towers 144. For example, ifthe driver of second motor vehicle 173 is operating a navigation deviceexecuting an application program registered by developer 108,advertisements and other content received on the navigation device canbe determined based on the location within sponsor B's reservedgeographic area 145. Likewise, the user of wireless device 177 willreceive advertisements related to sponsor B from within a registeredapplication. In some embodiments, content delivery platform 112 canprevent content from sponsor A 121 and sponsor C 123 from beingdelivered to a mobile device carried by second motor vehicle 173 andwireless device 177, because both motor vehicle 173 and wireless device177 are located in sponsor B's reserved geographic area 145.

Turning next to sponsor A and sponsor C's reserved geographic area 147,note that the perimeter is a square, rectangle or similarly shaped. Insome embodiments, the perimeter may be defined entirely by longitude andlatitude lines and/or coordinates that constitute an area. In otherembodiments, sponsor A and sponsor C's reserved geographic area 147 canbe partially bounded by a longitude or latitude line, a road, river,railway, county, state, parish, city, locality, or other desiredboundary. In some embodiments, the perimeter of a sponsor A and sponsorC's reserved geographic area 147 can be defined by a combination oflongitude or latitude lines, with one or more remaining boundariesdefined based on radius or diameter.

Because third motor vehicle 175 is within sponsor A and sponsor C'sreserved geographic area 147, a mobile device carried by third motorvehicle 175 can receive advertising content from either or both sponsorA and sponsor C. In some embodiments, the interest in sponsor A andsponsor C's reserved geographic area 147 can be equally divided betweensponsor A 121 and sponsor C 123, while in other embodiments one ofsponsor A 121 and sponsor C 123 can have an interest superior to that ofthe other. In some embodiments, content delivery platform 112 candeliver advertisements or other content related to Sponsor A at selectedtimes, while content related to Sponsor C is delivered at other times.Additionally, content related to sponsor A may be delivered via a firstregistered application, while content related to sponsor C can bedelivered via a second registered application. Thus, sponsors canadvertise or provide other content to members of particular demographicsbased on a type of application a particular demographic is more likelyto use.

Referring next to FIG. 2, a target location other than a mobile devicein a system 200 is illustrated according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, a user of registered application 231 islocated within the perimeter defining first sponsor's reserved area 207.Object of interest 233 is located in second sponsor's reserved area 205.In some embodiments, object of interest 233 can be any type of object ofinterest to the user of registered application 231. For example, objectof interest 233 could be a friend of the user of registered application231, and this friend may be employing a mobile phone, a laptop, a kioskcomputer, a PDA, or any other device capable of sending locationinformation 216 directly or indirectly to registered application 231. Insome embodiments, target location information 216 can be any type ofinformation that can be used to determine the location of the object ofinterest 233. In at least one embodiment, target location information216 may be a geocoded twitter message. In another example, object ofinterest 233 could be an end destination on a map, and the locationinformation 216 of this end destination can be sent to registeredapplication 231.

In response to receiving the target location information 216 from objectof interest 233, registered application 231 can send a request 213 tocontent delivery platform 212. The request can include, but is notlimited to, information indicating the location of object of interest233, a request for content, information indicating the location ofregistered application 231, information indicating the identity of theregistered application 231, and a previously received requestidentifier.

Content delivery platform 212 can receive and process request 213 toidentify the location of registered application 231 and the location ofobject of interest 233. In some embodiments, both locations need not beidentified. Furthermore, in some embodiments the specific location neednot be identified, as long as a determination that object of interest233 is located within a given proximity of second sponsor's reservedarea 205, or that registered application 231 is located within firstsponsor's reserved area 207.

Content delivery platform 212 can provide registered applicationinformation 217 to second sponsor 225 to allow second sponsor 225 todeliver second sponsor's content 214 to registered application 231. Theregistered application information 217 can be an application identifier,a request identifier, a target location, a communications address, orother information that can be utilized by second sponsor 225. In someembodiments, application information 217 need not be provided to secondsponsor 225, but instead can be processed internally by content deliveryplatform 212, and a determination can be made for second sponsor'scontent 214 to be delivered directly to application 231 from contentdelivery platform 212, or a third party (not illustrated).

Note that in the illustrated embodiment, despite the fact thatregistered application 231 is located within first sponsor's reservedarea 207, the information delivered to registered application 231 can becontent related exclusively to second sponsor's reserved area 205, inwhich object of interest 233 is located. This is because, in theillustrated embodiment, the target location is the location of object ofinterest 233, rather than the location of a mobile device executingregistered application 231.

In some embodiments, information from the first sponsor can also bedelivered to registered application 231, because the locations of thedevice running registered application 231 and object of interest 233 areboth considered target locations. Furthermore, in some embodimentscontent need not be delivered directly from second sponsor 225, butinstead can be provided by content delivery platform 212, or a thirdparty (not illustrated).

Referring next to FIG. 3, a graph showing various geographic areas withreference to longitude and latitude is illustrated according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. The geographic areas in FIG. 3are for illustration only and carry no particular significance withrespect to their geometric shapes. Graph 300 includes a triangular area320, reserved for sponsor A; pentagonal area 371, reserved for sponsorG; and octagonal area 330, also reserved for sponsor G. In theillustrated example, sponsor G has two physical addresses: G1 327, whichlies within sponsor G's reserved octagonal area 330, and G2 328 which,lies within sponsor A's reserved triangular area 320. Furthermore, inthe illustrated embodiment, sponsor A does not have a physical locationwithin sponsor A's reserved triangular area 320. These examples helpillustrate that there is not necessarily a correlation between asponsor's physical address and a reserved geographic area, although insome embodiments there may be such a correlation.

As illustrated by FIG. 3, a single target location F 333 is locatedwithin sponsor G's reserved octagonal area 330, and target location F333 can be a mobile device running a registered application, or targetlocation F 333 can represent a target location other than the locationof a mobile device, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, themobile device with target location F 333 receives advertisingexclusively from advertiser G.

As further illustrated by FIG. 3, there are four target locations:target location A 321, target location B 323, target location C 325, andtarget location G 392 within advertiser A's reserved triangular area320. Note also, however, that target location G 392 also lies within oneof sponsor G's reserved geographic areas, pentagonal area 371. Considerthe following example in which target location A 321 and target locationB 323 each are mobile devices executing a first application registeredwith a content delivery platform, such as content delivery platform 112,of FIG. 1. Further assume, for purposes of this example, that targetlocation C 325 is a mobile device executing a second, differentapplication, which is also registered with the content deliveryplatform. Because both the first and second applications are registeredwith the content delivery platform, each of the three devices, withtarget location A 321 target location B 323 and target location C 325can receive advertisements or other content from within their respectiveapplications. In this example, the content delivered to all threedevices can be related exclusively to sponsor A, regardless of whichregistered application is being executed, because sponsor A has the onlyreserved interest in the portions of triangular area 320 occupied bymobile devices having target locations A 321 B 323 and C 325.

In some embodiments, target location G 392 can be a mobile devicerunning two or more registered applications, and can receive contentrelated to sponsor A, because the mobile device lies within triangulararea 320. But, target location G 392 also lies within pentagonal area371, and the mobile device can therefore receive content associated withsponsor G. In some embodiments, content related to sponsor A can bedelivered via one of the registered applications, while anotherregistered application receives and displays content related to sponsorG. In other embodiments, one of sponsor A or sponsor G can have asuperior interest to the other, and a preference can be given to thatsponsor's content for delivery. For example, sponsor G may have asuperior interest in pentagonal area 371, which also forms part oftriangular area 320. In such a case, if content related to sponsor G isavailable for delivery to the application on the mobile device withtarget location G 392, that content will be delivered in preference tocontent related to sponsor A. However, if there is no high prioritycontent related to sponsor G to be delivered, content related to sponsorA may be provided in its stead. Various other priority and time sharingmechanisms and methods can be implemented according to the teachings setforth herein. Note that in some embodiments, multiple registeredapplications are not required to implement priority and time sharingmechanisms.

In some instances, a mobile device can have target locations, such astarget location D 324 or target location E 356, located outside of areasreserved by sponsors. In such a case, a check can be made to determineif either target location D 340 or target location E 356 are locatedwithin a given proximity of a sponsor-reserved area such as triangulararea 320 or octagonal area 330. So, for example, a check can be made todetermine whether any reserved areas lie within a given radius of targetlocation D 340, defining a search area 341, or within a given radius oftarget location E 356, defining a search area 351. In some embodiments,if no sponsor reserved area intersects an area within an initially smallradius, further checks can be performed by incrementally increasing theradius. So, for example, after a first check finds no advertiserreserved areas within search areas 341 or 351, the search areas can beincreased to encompass areas 343 and 353, respectively.

In the illustrated example, there is no reserved area intersectingsearch area 353, but sponsor H 357 has a physical address within area353. In some embodiments, once it is determined that a registeredsponsor has a physical address location within a search radius, butthere are no sponsor reserved geographic areas in proximity to orencompassing a target location, an advertisement or other content can bedelivered to a mobile device, such as the device with target location356.

Another situation arises when there are no sponsor reserved geographicareas intersecting a search area, but there are multiple sponsorphysical locations within a given radius. Consider area 343, whichcontains sponsor E's location 349, and sponsor F's location 347. Becauseneither sponsor E nor sponsor F has established a reserved area thatintersects with search area 343, a random choice can be made betweenthese two sponsors to determine which sponsor's content to provide tothe registered application on the device with target location D 340. Inother embodiments, preference may be given to one of sponsor E'slocation 349 and sponsor F's location 347 based on each physicallocations' proximity to target location D 340, based on a travel timebetween the device with target location D 340 and the sponsors'locations, or based on some other desired parameter. In furtherembodiments, if no sponsor's reserved geographic area intersects anyportion of area 343, no content is sent to mobile device D with targetlocation 340, despite the fact that location sponsor E's location 359,and sponsor F's location 347 are both within the perimeter definingsearch area 343.

In some embodiments, the search radius can continue to be expanded untila search area 345 intersects with a sponsor reserved geographic area. Inthe illustrated embodiment, search area 345 intersects sponsor A'sreserved triangular area 320. Note that sponsor G2's physical location328 is also located within search area 345. In some embodiments, contentfrom either sponsor A or sponsor G can be selected using any of variousprocesses, because target location D 340 is not located entirely withintriangular area 320. In some embodiments, however, because the expandedsearch area 345 encompasses even a portion of sponsor A's reservedtriangular area 320, content related to sponsor G will be excluded, andcontent related to sponsor A will be exclusively provided to mobiledevice with target location D 340. In some embodiments, because targetlocation D 340 is not located within sponsor A's reserved triangulararea 320, content related to sponsor A will be excluded, and contentrelated to sponsor G will be exclusively provided to mobile device withtarget location D 340.

Additional techniques accounting for the proximity of exclusivelyreserved advertising areas and sponsor's physical locations with respectto mobile device locations can be implemented according to the teachingset forth herein. For example, in some embodiments, sponsors may obtainan interest in all otherwise unreserved geographic areas. For example, acontent delivery system can deliver content from a “default” sponsor, ifit is determined that no other content is to be delivered to a mobiledevice.

Referring next to FIG. 4, a method 400 for allowing sponsors to reserveparticular geographic areas will be discussed according to embodimentsof the present disclosure. Method 400 begins, as illustrated by block401. As illustrated by block 403, a content delivery platform, forexample content delivery platform 112 as illustrated in FIG. 1, canreceive a request for sponsor registration, which can also includereceiving physical address location from the sponsor. As illustrated byblock 405, the sponsor can establish perimeters defining geographicareas of exclusive or semi-exclusive control. These geographic areas areareas the sponsor wishes to reserve for delivery of his ownadvertisements or other content controlled by the sponsor.

The perimeters established can be based on map features, such asstreets, rivers, landmarks, or any of the other various map features.The perimeters can also be defined by latitude and longitude, or variousgeometric constructs having a given relative position to either a pointlocation, a map location, a physical address, or otherwise. Someembodiments allow for establishing perimeters defining areas based on acombination of the various types of constructs. So, for example,latitude, longitude and map features may be used to establish thereserved area, or a combination of coordinates and geometric constructscan be used in conjunction with other suitable boundary identifiers toestablish an area that may be reserved specifically for content relatedto a particular advertiser or sponsor.

In some embodiments, the perimeters may be generated interactively,using sponsor established perimeter definitions, or other unique sponsorrequests. Some embodiments employ pre-defined areas, or allow selectionof areas based on predetermined factors, and present sponsors a choicefrom among previously established options.

As illustrated by block 407, a sponsor's request for a selected area isreceived. As illustrated by block 409, a check is made to determine ifthe selected area, or a portion of the selected area, has already beenreserved by another sponsor. If the area selected by the sponsor isalready owned or is otherwise unavailable, method 400 may return toblock 407, and the sponsor can choose another area. In some embodiments,overlap of various sponsor areas may be allowed based on type ofbusiness, type of application used to deliver the content, or otherwise.

As illustrated by block 411, if an area selected for exclusive orsemi-exclusive content delivery is available, the selected geographicarea can be reserved for the sponsor. And as illustrated by block 413,the sponsor can be notified that an interest in the geographic area hasbeen reserved for him.

A sponsor can provide content for delivery to mobile devices havingtarget locations contained within its reserved area, as illustrated byblock 415. This content can include advertisements, still image content,animated content, video content, audio content, alphanumericidentifiers, or other content suitable for delivery to mobile devicesvia registered applications. As illustrated by block 417, the contentreceived from the sponsor can be stored for later delivery to registeredapplications running on mobile devices having target locations thatexist within the sponsor's reserved area, which such target locationsmay include, but are not limited to, when the mobile device or targetlocation physically enters or remains within the sponsor's reserved areafor a desired length of time. In some embodiments, content can bedelivered to a mobile device by the sponsor or another party in responseto a notification that the mobile device or target location has enteredor is contained within the sponsor's reserved area. Method 400 ends, asillustrated at block 419.

Referring next to FIG. 5, a method 500 of registering an applicationprogram for use in conjunction with a content delivery platform isillustrated according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.Method 500 begins as illustrated by block 501. As illustrated by block503, an application can be registered on a content delivery platform inresponse to a request by a developer, for example developer 108 asillustrated in FIG. 1. As illustrated by block 505, a request forcontent can be received from a device running a registered application.In some embodiments, the same registered application may be executed onany of various mobile devices, including mobile telephones, personaldigital assistants, laptops, and the like. Furthermore, multiple devicesmay execute copies of the same registered application, multipledifferent registered applications may be executed on a single mobiledevice, and multiple different registered applications may be executedon multiple devices.

As illustrated by block 507 a determination is made as to whether theapplication sending the request for content has a target location thatis located within a sponsor's reserved geographic area. In someembodiments, the target location may be the location of the device. Insome embodiments, the target location may be a location other than thelocation of the device, as illustrated in FIG. 2. As illustrated byblock 509, if the target location is located within a sponsor's reservedarea, content from the corresponding sponsor can be chosen for deliveryto the mobile device. The content can be chosen based on a number ofdifferent parameters or combinations of parameters. In some embodiments,different sponsors may designate particular content to be provided ondifferent days of the week or at different times of day. Some suchembodiments allow a single geographic area to be shared by differentadvertisers or sponsors. For example, content associated with a firstsponsor may be selected for delivery in a particular geographic areaduring the lunch hour, while content related to a second sponsor isselected for delivery in that same geographic area between the hours ofmidnight and 2 am.

In some embodiments, content from one sponsor can be selected fordelivery in a particular geographic area in specific situations, eventhough a different sponsor has generally reserved that same geographicarea. For example, content from a first sponsor can be delivered duringa football game to mobile devices located in a geographic area normallyreserved by a second sponsor, effectively trumping content related tothe second sponsor that would otherwise be delivered. In someembodiments, additional criteria can be applied to determine whichsponsors' content will be provided to mobile devices in a particulargeographic area.

As illustrated by block 511, selected content can be provided to anapplication for display on a mobile device. In at least one embodiment,different content from the same sponsor can be provided to the samedevice for display within different applications, or the same contentfrom the same sponsor can be displayed for all mobile devices runningall registered applications that have target locations within thedelivery area for the content. For example, a first program run on amobile device may display a first advertisement within that programwhile a second program running on the same device may display a secondadvertisement, which is different from the first advertisement. In someembodiments in which an interest in a particular geographic area isshared between multiple sponsors, a primary sponsor's content can beexclusively displayed via a first registered application running on aparticular mobile device, while content from other sponsors can bedisplayed via a second and subsequent applications running on the samemobile device.

As illustrated by block 513, if the target location is not within asponsor's reserved area, a determination can be made regarding whetherat least one sponsor's presence is within a first predetermined radiusof the target location. In some embodiments, a determination is maderegarding whether a sponsor's physical location is within apredetermined radius of the target location. In some embodiments, adetermination is made regarding whether a sponsor's geographic area, ora portion of a sponsor's geographic area, is contained within apredetermined radius of the target location. If at least one sponsor'spresence is within a predetermined radius of the target location, asponsor is chosen from a random or pseudo-random process, as illustratedby block 519. Content is then selected for delivery, as illustrated byblock 509. As illustrated by block 515, if a sponsor's presence is notwithin a predetermined radius of the target location, the search radiuscan be increased. As illustrated by block 517, a check can be made todetermine whether any more increases should be made. In someembodiments, the search radius can continue to be increasedincrementally, in a logarithmic manner, or otherwise, until at least aportion of a sponsor's reserved area intersects the search area definedby the search radius. In some embodiments, the search radius can beincreased a predetermined number of times, or can be limited based onsystem resources, time constraints, or other desired parameters. Theprocesses illustrated by blocks 513, 515, and 517 can be repeated untila positive indication is produced by the process at block 517.

As illustrated by block 519, content from a randomly or pseudo-randomlyselected sponsor can be delivered to a mobile device if the targetlocation is not within a desired proximity to a sponsor's reserved area.In some embodiments, rather than delivering content randomly, contentselections can be made based on desired criteria. Content related to asponsor that reserved all otherwise unallocated space can be deliveredto a mobile device executing a registered application. In some suchembodiments, if any particular geographic areas have not yet beenreserved, or if any device requesting content does not have a targetlocation contained within a reserved geographic area, the defaultsponsor's content can be delivered to the mobile device. Method 500 endsas illustrated by block 521.

Preferring next to FIG. 6, a method of interaction between a mobiledevice and a content providing platform is illustrated according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 600 begins asillustrated by block 601. As illustrated by block 603 an applicationplatform key can be provided to a developer in response to the developerregistering an application for use on the application platform. Thedeveloper can, in turn, provide the key to mobile devices on which theregistered application is installed. As illustrated by block 605, when amobile device requests content from the content providing platform, themobile device can send the key along with its request. As illustrated byblock 607, the content providing platform can verify that the keymatches a valid key stored in its database, or elsewhere, beforeproviding content to the application.

In some embodiments, key verification can be performed by an entityother than the content providing platform. As illustrated by block 627,if a verification check on the key fails, no content is provided to therequesting application, and the method 600 ends.

As illustrated by block 609, if the key is validated a session can beinitiated between the application on the mobile device, and the contentdelivery platform. As illustrated by block 611 in at least oneembodiment, the application running on the mobile device sends themobile device's location, or another target location, to the contentdelivery platform. However, in some embodiments the actual location isnot sent by the device, but may be provided to the content deliveryplatform from another source. Furthermore, the content deliveryplatform, or a subsystem of a communications system employed by thecontent delivery platform, can determine the location of the mobiledevice based on raw, partially, or completely processed informationreceived from the mobile device or from another source. For example, themobile device can forward information associated with a target locationto the content delivery platform, or the content delivery server canobtain location information from a third party application or device,from a home location register (HLR), from a visiting location register(VLR), from raw, differential, processed or semi-processed GPS data,from power signals used in code-division multiple access (CDMA) or otherwireless communications systems, or otherwise.

As illustrated by block 613, the content delivery platform records therequest from the registered application in a request identifier in theplatform database, or some other suitable storage location. The requestidentifier can be used in some embodiments to track further interactionwith the registered application, or to deliver additional content to arequesting mobile device. Thus, in some embodiments, a mobile device orother target location that is only temporarily located within aparticular sponsor's reserved geographic area may continue to receiveinformation from that sponsor after the mobile device, or the targetlocation, exits the sponsor's reserved area. In other embodiments,content related to a sponsor is discontinued in response to a mobiledevice exiting, or the target location losing focus within, thesponsor's reserved area.

As illustrated by block 615, the content delivery platform can deliverthe request identifier to the requesting application along with therequested content. As illustrated by block 617, a user of the mobiledevice can interact with the provided content using any of variousmethods such as pressing a button, selecting a user selectable object ona graphical user interface, or otherwise. The application on the mobiledevice can send an indication of the interaction to the content deliveryplatform via the same communication channel used to send the request, orvia a different communications channel.

As illustrated by block 619, a registered application running on amobile device can send an additional information request to the platformusing the previously assigned request identifier. In some embodiments,using the previously assigned platform request identifier permitstracking of a series of interactions between a particular applicationand the content delivery platform. Furthermore, using the requestidentifier can allow individualized content to be delivered to differentregistered applications which may or may not be running on the samemobile device.

As illustrated by block 621, a determination is made regarding whether arequest identifier sent in conjunction with a request for furtherinformation is maintained in the platform database or other suitablestorage. As illustrated by block 623, if the request identifier iscontained in the database or other storage area, the content deliveryplatform can update a request identifier record as being complete. Andas illustrated by block 625, the content delivery platform can delivermore content to the requesting application. As illustrated by block 627,method 600 can proceed to end after delivering the additional content.

The methods and processes discussed previously, as well as otherembodiments, may be implemented in a processing system executing a setof instructions stored in memory, or on a removable computer readablemedium. An example of a system according to some embodiments isillustrated in FIG. 7. Referring now to FIG. 7, a high-level blockdiagram of a processing system is illustrated and discussed. Processingsystem 700 includes one or more central processing units, such as CPU A705 and CPU B 707, which may be conventional microprocessorsinterconnected with various other units via at least one system bus 710.CPU A 705 and CPU B 707 may be separate cores of an individual,multi-core processor, or individual processors connected via aspecialized bus 711. In some embodiments, CPU A 705 or CPU B 707 may bea specialized processor, such as a graphics processor, otherco-processor, or the like.

Processing system 700 includes random access memory (RAM) 720; read-onlymemory (ROM) 715, wherein the ROM 715 could also be erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM) or electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM); and input/output (I/O) adapter725, for connecting peripheral devices such as disk units 730, opticaldrive 736, or tape drive 737 to system bus 710; a user interface adapter740 for connecting keyboard 745, mouse 750, speaker 755, microphone 760,or other user interface devices to system bus 710; communicationsadapter 765 for connecting processing system 700 to an informationnetwork such as the Internet or any of various local area networks, widearea networks, telephone networks, or the like; and display adapter 770for connecting system bus 710 to a display device such as monitor 775.Mouse 750 has a series of buttons 780, 785 and may be used to control acursor shown on monitor 775.

It will be understood that processing system 700 may include othersuitable data processing systems without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, processing system 700 may include bulkstorage and cache memories, which provide temporary storage of at leastsome program code in order to reduce the number of times code must beretrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Various disclosed embodiments can be implemented in hardware, software,or a combination containing both hardware and software elements. In oneor more embodiments, the invention is implemented in software, whichincludes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode,etc. Some embodiments may be realized as a computer program product, andmay be implemented as a computer-usable or computer-readable mediumembodying program code for use by, or in connection with, a computer, aprocessor, or other suitable instruction execution system.

For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computerreadable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media maycomprise any of various types of computer storage media, includingvolatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implementedin any suitable method or technology for storage of information such ascomputer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data. Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium which can be used to store the desired informationand which can be accessed by a computer. Data structures andtransmission of data (including wireless transmission) particular toaspects of the disclosure are also encompassed within the scope of thedisclosure.

Various embodiments have been described for delivering content relatedto a commercial media program. Other variations and modifications of theembodiments disclosed may be made based on the description provided,without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile device comprising: memory; at least oneprocessor operably coupled to the memory; a location-determinationcomponent; and at least one module configured for execution by the atleast one processor, wherein the at least one module comprises at leastone instruction for: in response to receiving, from an applicationprogram during its execution in the mobile device, a request for havingat least a first identifier being associated with a first designatedgeographic area of interest provided to the application program after ithas been determined, by at least use of the at least one processor andof location information representing at least one physical geographiclocation of the mobile device as determined by thelocation-determination component, that the mobile device has at leastentered the first designated geographic area of interest and hasremained therein for at least a predetermined length of time, afterreceiving, from the application program, both a first data stringcomprising the first identifier to be associated with the firstdesignated geographic area of interest and first geographic data to beused for defining the first designated geographic area of interest andto be used with the first identifier to establish, in the memory, thefirst designated geographic area of interest as a first areaspecifically reserved for delivery of the first identifier related tothe application program, after establishing, in the memory, the firstdesignated geographic area of interest as the first area specificallyreserved for delivery of the first identifier related to the applicationprogram, after storing, in the memory, a first record comprising thefirst identifier, and after determining, by at least use of the at leastone processor and of the location information, that the mobile devicehas at least entered the first area specifically reserved for deliveryof the first identifier related to the application program and hasremained therein for at least the predetermined length of time,delivering, from the first record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least first datum comprising at least the firstidentifier.
 2. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the at least onemodule further comprises at least one instruction for: receiving, fromthe application program during its execution in the mobile device, therequest for having at least the first identifier being associated withthe first designated geographic area of interest provided to theapplication program after it has been determined, by at least use of theat least one processor and of the location information, that the mobiledevice has at least entered the first designated geographic area ofinterest and has remained therein for at least the predetermined lengthof time.
 3. The mobile device of claim 2 wherein: the first geographicdata from the application program comprises at least one geometricconstruct that establishes at least one perimeter for defining the firstdesignated geographic area of interest; and the at least one modulefurther comprises at least one instruction for: receiving, from theapplication program during its execution in the mobile device, both thefirst data string comprising the first identifier to be associated withthe first designated geographic area of interest and the firstgeographic data to be used for defining the first designated geographicarea of interest and to be used with the first identifier to establish,in the memory, the first designated geographic area of interest as thefirst area specifically reserved for delivery of the first identifierrelated to the application program.
 4. The mobile device of claim 3wherein the at least one geometric construct from the applicationprogram that establishes the at least one perimeter for defining thefirst designated geographic area of interest comprises at least oneradius value.
 5. The mobile device of claim 3 wherein the at least onegeometric construct from the application program that establishes the atleast one perimeter for defining the first designated geographic area ofinterest comprises a combination of at least two latitudinal values andat least two longitudinal values.
 6. The mobile device of claim 4wherein the first geographic data from the application program furthercomprises at least one latitude value and at least one longitude valuefor defining the first designated geographic area of interest.
 7. Themobile device of claim 6 wherein: the at least one instruction fordelivering, from the first record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least first datum comprising at least the firstidentifier includes being at least one instruction for delivering the atleast first datum after obtaining the location information representingat least one physical geographic location of the mobile device asdetermined by the location-determination component; and the at least onemodule further comprises at least one instruction for: obtaining thelocation information representing at least one physical geographiclocation of the mobile device as determined by thelocation-determination component; and determining, by at least use ofthe at least one processor and of the location information, that themobile device has at least entered the first area specifically reservedfor delivery of the first identifier related to the application programand has remained therein for at least the predetermined length of time.8. The mobile device of claim 7 wherein the at least one module furthercomprises at least one instruction for: registering, in the memory, theapplication program for having at least the first identifier provided tothe application program after it has been determined, by at least use ofthe at least one processor and of the location information, that themobile device has at least entered the first area specifically reservedfor delivery of the first identifier related to the application programand has remained therein for at least the predetermined length of time.9. The mobile device of claim 7 wherein the at least one module furthercomprises at least one instruction for: in response to receiving, fromthe application program during its execution in the mobile device, arequest for having at least a second identifier being associated with asecond designated geographic area of interest provided to theapplication program after it has been determined, by at least use of theat least one processor and of the location information, that the mobiledevice has at least entered the second designated geographic area ofinterest and has remained therein for at least a second predeterminedlength of time, after receiving, from the application program, both asecond data string comprising the second identifier to be associatedwith the second designated geographic area of interest and secondgeographic data to be used for defining the second designated geographicarea of interest and to be used with the second identifier to establish,in the memory, the second designated geographic area of interest as asecond area specifically reserved for delivery of the second identifierrelated to the application program, after establishing, in the memory,the second designated geographic area of interest as the second areaspecifically reserved for delivery of the second identifier related tothe application program, after storing, in the memory, a second recordcomprising the second identifier, and after determining, by at least useof the at least one processor and of the location information, that themobile device has at least entered the second area specifically reservedfor delivery of the second identifier related to the application programand has remained therein for at least the second predetermined length oftime, delivering, from the second record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least second datum comprising at least thesecond identifier.
 10. The mobile device of claim 7 wherein: the atleast one instruction for delivering, from the first record stored inthe memory and to the application program, at least first datumcomprising at least the first identifier includes being at least oneinstruction for delivering the at least first datum after availabilityfor the first designated geographic area of interest to be reserved forthe application program has been positively determined; and the at leastone module further comprises at least one instruction for: determiningavailability for the first designated geographic area of interest to bereserved for the application program.
 11. The mobile device of claim 7wherein the at least one module further comprises at least oneinstruction for: sending, via the application program, to the at leastone instruction for receiving the request for having at least the firstidentifier being associated with the first designated geographic area ofinterest provided to the application program, the request for having atleast the first identifier being associated with the first designatedgeographic area of interest provided to the application program after ithas been determined, by at least use of the at least one processor andof the location information, that the mobile device has at least enteredthe first designated geographic area of interest and has remainedtherein for at least the predetermined length of time; and sending, viathe application program, to the at least one instruction for receivingboth the first data string comprising the first identifier and the firstgeographic data, the first data string comprising the first identifierand the first geographic data.
 12. The mobile device of claim 11 whereinthe at least one module further comprises at least one instruction for:after receiving the first identifier in the at least first datumdelivered from the first record stored in the memory, displaying, on themobile device via a graphical user interface tangibly embodied by themobile device and via the application program, content associated withthe first designated geographic area of interest.
 13. The mobile deviceof claim 7 wherein the at least one module further comprises at leastone instruction for: creating a notification indicating that the mobiledevice has at least entered the first area specifically reserved fordelivery of the first identifier related to the application program andhas remained therein for at least the predetermined length of time. 14.The mobile device of claim 7 wherein the first identifier, in its beingassociated with the first designated geographic area of interest,provides at least identification of a boundary for the first designatedgeographic area of interest.
 15. The mobile device of claim 7 whereinthe at least one instruction for receiving, from the application programduring its execution in the mobile device, the request for having atleast the first identifier being associated with the first designatedgeographic area of interest provided to the application program includesbeing at least one instruction for receiving, from at least one otherapplication program during its execution in the mobile device, one ormore other requests for having at least one or more identifiers eachbeing respectfully associated with one or more designated geographicareas of interest provided to the at least one other application programafter it has been determined, by at least use of the at least oneprocessor and of the location information, that the mobile device has atleast entered the one or more designated geographic areas of interestand has remained therein for at least a predetermined length of time.16. The mobile device of claim 7 wherein: the at least one instructionfor delivering, from the first record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least first datum comprising at least the firstidentifier includes being at least one instruction for delivering the atleast first datum after receiving, from the application program duringits execution in the mobile device, a data value representing thepredetermined length of time and after determining, by at least use ofthe at least one processor and of the location information, that themobile device, following a designated start time and during a designatedduration of time, has at least entered the first area specificallyreserved for delivery of the first identifier related to the applicationprogram and has remained therein for at least the predetermined lengthof time; and the at least one module further comprises at least oneinstruction for: receiving, from the application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, the data value representing thepredetermined length of time and a data value representing thedesignated duration of time.
 17. The mobile device of claim 9 wherein:the second geographic data from the application program comprises atleast one second geometric construct that establishes at least onesecond perimeter for defining the second designated geographic area ofinterest; the at least one second geometric construct from theapplication program that establishes the at least one second perimeterfor defining the second designated geographic area of interest comprisesat least one second radius value; the second geographic data from theapplication program further comprises at least one second latitude valueand at least one second longitude value for defining the seconddesignated geographic area of interest; the at least one instruction fordelivering, from the second record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least second datum comprising at least thesecond identifier includes being at least one instruction for deliveringthe at least second datum after obtaining the location informationrepresenting at least one physical geographic location of the mobiledevice as determined by the location-determination component; the firstidentifier, in its being associated with the first designated geographicarea of interest, provides at least identification of a boundary for thefirst designated geographic area of interest; the second identifier, inits being associated with the second designated geographic area ofinterest, provides at least identification of a boundary for the seconddesignated geographic area of interest; and the at least one modulefurther comprises at least one instruction for: receiving, from theapplication program during its execution in the mobile device, therequest for having at least the second identifier being associated withthe second designated geographic area of interest provided to theapplication program after it has been determined, by at least use of theat least one processor and of the location information, that the mobiledevice has at least entered the second designated geographic area ofinterest and has remained therein for at least the second predeterminedlength of time; receiving, from the application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, both the second data string comprisingthe second identifier to be associated with the second designatedgeographic area of interest and the second geographic data to be usedfor defining the second designated geographic area of interest and to beused with the second identifier to establish, in the memory, the seconddesignated geographic area of interest as the second area specificallyreserved for delivery of the second identifier related to theapplication program; and determining, by at least use of the at leastone processor and of the location information, that the mobile devicehas at least entered the second area specifically reserved for deliveryof the second identifier related to the application program and hasremained therein for at least the second predetermined length of time.18. A non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly embodying atleast one program of computer executable instructions, wherein the atleast one program of computer executable instructions comprises at leastone instruction for: in response to receiving, in a mobile device, froman application program during its execution in the mobile device, arequest for having at least a first identifier being associated with afirst designated geographic area of interest provided to the applicationprogram after it has been determined, by at least use of at least oneprocessor tangibly embodied by the mobile device and of locationinformation representing at least one physical geographic location ofthe mobile device as determined by a location-determination componenttangibly embodied by the mobile device, that the mobile device has atleast entered the first designated geographic area of interest and hasremained therein for at least a predetermined length of time, afterreceiving, from the application program, both a first data stringcomprising the first identifier to be associated with the firstdesignated geographic area of interest and first geographic data to beused for defining the first designated geographic area of interest andto be used with the first identifier to establish, in a memory tangiblyembodied by the mobile device, the first designated geographic area ofinterest as a first area specifically reserved for delivery of the firstidentifier related to the application program, after establishing, inthe memory, the first designated geographic area of interest as thefirst area specifically reserved for delivery of the first identifierrelated to the application program, after storing, in the memory, afirst record comprising the first identifier, and after determining, byat least use of the at least one processor and of the locationinformation, that the mobile device has at least entered the first areaspecifically reserved for delivery of the first identifier related tothe application program and has remained therein for at least thepredetermined length of time, delivering, from the first record storedin the memory and to the application program, at least first datumcomprising at least the first identifier.
 19. A method comprising:sending, via a particular application program executing in a mobiledevice, to at least one program of computer executable instructionsoperating in the mobile device: a request for having at least aparticular identifier being associated with a particular designatedgeographic area of interest provided to the particular applicationprogram after it has been determined, by at least use of at least oneprocessor tangibly embodied by the mobile device and of locationinformation representing at least one physical geographic location ofthe mobile device as determined by a location-determination componenttangibly embodied by the mobile device, that the mobile device has atleast entered the particular designated geographic area of interest; aparticular data string comprising the particular identifier to beassociated with the particular designated geographic area of interest;and particular geographic data to be used for defining the particulardesignated geographic area of interest and to be used with theparticular identifier to establish, in a memory tangibly embodied by themobile device, the particular designated geographic area of interest asan area specifically reserved for delivery of the particular identifierrelated to the particular application program, wherein: the particulargeographic data from the particular application program comprises atleast one particular geometric construct that establishes at least oneparticular perimeter for defining the particular designated geographicarea of interest; and the at least one program of computer executableinstructions comprises at least one instruction for: in response toreceiving, in the mobile device, from an application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, a request for having at least a firstidentifier being associated with a first designated geographic area ofinterest provided to the application program after it has beendetermined, by at least use of the at least one processor and of thelocation information, that the mobile device has at least entered thefirst designated geographic area of interest and has remained thereinfor at least a predetermined length of time, after receiving, from theapplication program, both a first data string comprising the firstidentifier to be associated with the first designated geographic area ofinterest and first geographic data to be used for defining the firstdesignated geographic area of interest and to be used with the firstidentifier to establish, in the memory tangibly embodied by the mobiledevice, the first designated geographic area of interest as a first areaspecifically reserved for delivery of the first identifier related tothe application program, after establishing, in the memory, the firstdesignated geographic area of interest as the first area specificallyreserved for delivery of the first identifier related to the applicationprogram, after storing, in the memory, a first record comprising thefirst identifier, and after determining, by at least use of the at leastone processor and of the location information, that the mobile devicehas at least entered the first area specifically reserved for deliveryof the first identifier related to the application program and hasremained therein for at least the predetermined length of time,delivering, from the first record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least first datum comprising at least the firstidentifier.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: afterreceiving, via the particular application program, the particularidentifier delivered by the at least one program of computer executableinstructions in response to the at least one program of computerexecutable instructions receiving the particular data string, theparticular geographic data, and the request for having at least theparticular identifier being associated with the particular designatedgeographic area of interest provided to the particular applicationprogram, and after the at least one program of computer executableinstructions has determined, by at least use of the at least oneprocessor and of the location information, that the mobile device has atleast entered the particular designated geographic area of interest,displaying, on the mobile device via a graphical user interface tangiblyembodied by the mobile device and via the particular applicationprogram, content associated with the particular designated geographicarea of interest.
 21. The computer readable medium of claim 18 whereinthe at least one program of computer executable instructions furthercomprises at least one instruction for: receiving, from the applicationprogram during its execution in the mobile device, the request forhaving at least the first identifier being associated with the firstdesignated geographic area of interest provided to the applicationprogram after it has been determined, by at least use of the at leastone processor and of the location information, that the mobile devicehas at least entered the first designated geographic area of interestand has remained therein for at least the predetermined length of time.22. The computer readable medium of claim 21 wherein: the firstgeographic data from the application program comprises at least onegeometric construct that establishes at least one perimeter for definingthe first designated geographic area of interest; and the at least oneprogram of computer executable instructions further comprises at leastone instruction for: receiving, from the application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, both the first data string comprisingthe first identifier to be associated with the first designatedgeographic area of interest and the first geographic data to be used fordefining the first designated geographic area of interest and to be usedwith the first identifier to establish, in the memory, the firstdesignated geographic area of interest as the first area specificallyreserved for delivery of the first identifier related to the applicationprogram.
 23. The computer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the atleast one geometric construct from the application program thatestablishes the at least one perimeter for defining the first designatedgeographic area of interest comprises at least one radius value.
 24. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 22 wherein the at least one geometricconstruct from the application program that establishes the at least oneperimeter for defining the first designated geographic area of interestcomprises a combination of at least two latitudinal values and at leasttwo longitudinal values.
 25. The computer readable medium of claim 23wherein the first geographic data from the application program furthercomprises at least one latitude value and at least one longitude valuefor defining the first designated geographic area of interest.
 26. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 25 wherein: the at least oneinstruction for delivering, from the first record stored in the memoryand to the application program, at least first datum comprising at leastthe first identifier includes being at least one instruction fordelivering the at least first datum after obtaining the locationinformation representing at least one physical geographic location ofthe mobile device as determined by the location- determinationcomponent; and the at least one program of computer executableinstructions further comprises at least one instruction for: obtainingthe location information representing at least one physical geographiclocation of the mobile device as determined by thelocation-determination component; and determining, by at least use ofthe at least one processor and of the location information, that themobile device has at least entered the first area specifically reservedfor delivery of the first identifier related to the application programand has remained therein for at least the predetermined length of time.27. The computer readable medium of claim 26 wherein the at least oneprogram of computer executable instructions further comprises at leastone instruction for: registering, in the memory, the application programfor having at least the first identifier provided to the applicationprogram after it has been determined, by at least use of the at leastone processor and of the location information, that the mobile devicehas at least entered the first area specifically reserved for deliveryof the first identifier related to the application program and hasremained therein for at least the predetermined length of time.
 28. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 26 wherein the at least one program ofcomputer executable instructions further comprises at least oneinstruction for: in response to receiving, from the application programduring its execution in the mobile device, a request for having at leasta second identifier being associated with a second designated geographicarea of interest provided to the application program after it has beendetermined, by at least use of the at least one processor and of thelocation information, that the mobile device has at least entered thesecond designated geographic area of interest and has remained thereinfor at least a second predetermined length of time, after receiving,from the application program, both a second data string comprising thesecond identifier to be associated with the second designated geographicarea of interest and second geographic data to be used for defining thesecond designated geographic area of interest and to be used with thesecond identifier to establish, in the memory, the second designatedgeographic area of interest as a second area specifically reserved fordelivery of the second identifier related to the application program,after establishing, in the memory, the second designated geographic areaof interest as the second area specifically reserved for delivery of thesecond identifier related to the application program, after storing, inthe memory, a second record comprising the second identifier, and afterdetermining, by at least use of the at least one processor and of thelocation information, that the mobile device has at least entered thesecond area specifically reserved for delivery of the second identifierrelated to the application program and has remained therein for at leastthe second predetermined length of time, delivering, from the secondrecord stored in the memory and to the application program, at leastsecond datum comprising at least the second identifier.
 29. The computerreadable medium of claim 26 wherein: the at least one instruction fordelivering, from the first record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least first datum comprising at least the firstidentifier includes being at least one instruction for delivering the atleast first datum after availability for the first designated geographicarea of interest to be reserved for the application program has beenpositively determined; and the at least one program of computerexecutable instructions further comprises at least one instruction for:determining availability for the first designated geographic area ofinterest to be reserved for the application program.
 30. The computerreadable medium of claim 26 wherein the at least one program of computerexecutable instructions further comprises at least one instruction for:sending, via the application program, to the at least one instructionfor receiving the request for having at least the first identifier beingassociated with the first designated geographic area of interestprovided to the application program, the request for having at least thefirst identifier being associated with the first designated geographicarea of interest provided to the application program after it has beendetermined, by at least use of the at least one processor and of thelocation information, that the mobile device has at least entered thefirst designated geographic area of interest and has remained thereinfor at least the predetermined length of time; and sending, via theapplication program, to the at least one instruction for receiving boththe first data string comprising the first identifier and the firstgeographic data, the first data string comprising the first identifierand the first geographic data.
 31. The computer readable medium of claim30 wherein the at least one program of computer executable instructionsfurther comprises at least one instruction for: after receiving thefirst identifier in the at least first datum delivered from the firstrecord stored in the memory, displaying, on the mobile device via agraphical user interface tangibly embodied by the mobile device and viathe application program, content associated with the first designatedgeographic area of interest.
 32. The computer readable medium of claim26 wherein the at least one program of computer executable instructionsfurther comprises at least one instruction for: creating a notificationindicating that the mobile device has at least entered the first areaspecifically reserved for delivery of the first identifier related tothe application program and has remained therein for at least thepredetermined length of time.
 33. The computer readable medium of claim26 wherein the first identifier, in its being associated with the firstdesignated geographic area of interest, provides at least identificationof a boundary for the first designated geographic area of interest. 34.The computer readable medium of claim 26 wherein the at least oneinstruction for receiving, from the application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, the request for having at least thefirst identifier being associated with the first designated geographicarea of interest provided to the application program includes being atleast one instruction for receiving, from at least one other applicationprogram during its execution in the mobile device, one or more otherrequests for having at least one or more identifiers each beingrespectfully associated with one or more designated geographic areas ofinterest provided to the at least one other application program after ithas been determined, by at least use of the at least one processor andof the location information, that the mobile device has at least enteredthe one or more designated geographic areas of interest and has remainedtherein for at least a predetermined length of time.
 35. The computerreadable medium of claim 26 wherein: the at least one instruction fordelivering, from the first record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least first datum comprising at least the firstidentifier includes being at least one instruction for delivering the atleast first datum after receiving, from the application program duringits execution in the mobile device, a data value representing thepredetermined length of time and after determining, by at least use ofthe at least one processor and of the location information, that themobile device, following a designated start time and during a designatedduration of time, has at least entered the first area specificallyreserved for delivery of the first identifier related to the applicationprogram and has remained therein for at least the predetermined lengthof time; and the at least one program of computer executableinstructions further comprises at least one instruction for: receiving,from the application program during its execution in the mobile device,the data value representing the predetermined length of time and a datavalue representing the designated duration of time.
 36. The computerreadable medium of claim 28 wherein: the second geographic data from theapplication program comprises at least one second geometric constructthat establishes at least one second perimeter for defining the seconddesignated geographic area of interest; the at least one secondgeometric construct from the application program that establishes the atleast one second perimeter for defining the second designated geographicarea of interest comprises at least one second radius value; the secondgeographic data from the application program further comprises at leastone second latitude value and at least one second longitude value fordefining the second designated geographic area of interest; the at leastone instruction for delivering, from the second record stored in thememory and to the application program, at least second datum comprisingat least the second identifier includes being at least one instructionfor delivering the at least second datum after obtaining the locationinformation representing at least one physical geographic location ofthe mobile device as determined by the location-determination component;the first identifier, in its being associated with the first designatedgeographic area of interest, provides at least identification of aboundary for the first designated geographic area of interest; thesecond identifier, in its being associated with the second designatedgeographic area of interest, provides at least identification of aboundary for the second designated geographic area of interest; and theat least one program of computer executable instructions furthercomprises at least one instruction for: receiving, from the applicationprogram during its execution in the mobile device, the request forhaving at least the second identifier being associated with the seconddesignated geographic area of interest provided to the applicationprogram after it has been determined, by at least use of the at leastone processor and of the location information, that the mobile devicehas at least entered the second designated geographic area of interestand has remained therein for at least the second predetermined length oftime; receiving, from the application program during its execution inthe mobile device, both the second data string comprising the secondidentifier to be associated with the second designated geographic areaof interest and the second geographic data to be used for defining thesecond designated geographic area of interest and to be used with thesecond identifier to establish, in the memory, the second designatedgeographic area of interest as the second area specifically reserved fordelivery of the second identifier related to the application program;and determining, by at least use of the at least one processor and ofthe location information, that the mobile device has at least enteredthe second area specifically reserved for delivery of the secondidentifier related to the application program and has remained thereinfor at least the second predetermined length of time.
 37. The method ofclaim 20 wherein the at least one program of computer executableinstructions further comprises at least one instruction for: receiving,from the application program during its execution in the mobile device,the request for having at least the first identifier being associatedwith the first designated geographic area of interest provided to theapplication program after it has been determined, by at least use of theat least one processor and of the location information, that the mobiledevice has at least entered the first designated geographic area ofinterest and has remained therein for at least the predetermined lengthof time.
 38. The method of claim 37 wherein: the first geographic datafrom the application program comprises at least one geometric constructthat establishes at least one perimeter for defining the firstdesignated geographic area of interest; and the at least one program ofcomputer executable instructions further comprises at least oneinstruction for: receiving, from the application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, both the first data string comprisingthe first identifier to be associated with the first designatedgeographic area of interest and the first geographic data to be used fordefining the first designated geographic area of interest and to be usedwith the first identifier to establish, in the memory, the firstdesignated geographic area of interest as the first area specificallyreserved for delivery of the first identifier related to the applicationprogram.
 39. The method of claim 38 wherein: the at least one geometricconstruct from the application program that establishes the at least oneperimeter for defining the first designated geographic area of interestcomprises at least one radius value; and the at least one particulargeometric construct from the particular application program thatestablishes at the least one particular perimeter for defining theparticular designated geographic area of interest comprises at least oneparticular radius value.
 40. The method of claim 38 wherein: the atleast one geometric construct from the application program thatestablishes the at least one perimeter for defining the first designatedgeographic area of interest comprises a combination of at least twolatitudinal values and at least two longitudinal values; and the atleast one particular geometric construct from the particular applicationprogram that establishes the at least one particular perimeter fordefining the particular designated geographic area of interest comprisesa particular combination of at least two particular latitudinal valuesand at least two particular longitudinal values.
 41. The method of claim39 wherein: the first geographic data from the application programfurther comprises at least one latitude value and at least one longitudevalue for defining the first designated geographic area of interest; andthe particular geographic data from the particular application programfurther comprises at least one particular latitude value and at leastone particular longitude value for defining the particular designatedgeographic area of interest.
 42. The method of claim 41 wherein: the atleast one instruction for delivering, from the first record stored inthe memory and to the application program, at least first datumcomprising at least the first identifier includes being at least oneinstruction for delivering the at least first datum after obtaining thelocation information representing at least one physical geographiclocation of the mobile device as determined by thelocation-determination component; and the at least one program ofcomputer executable instructions further comprises at least oneinstruction for: obtaining the location information representing atleast one physical geographic location of the mobile device asdetermined by the location-determination component; and determining, byat least use of the at least one processor and of the locationinformation, that the mobile device has at least entered the first areaspecifically reserved for delivery of the first identifier related tothe application program and has remained therein for at least thepredetermined length of time.
 43. The method of claim 42 wherein the atleast one program of computer executable instructions further comprisesat least one instruction for: registering, in the memory, theapplication program for having at least the first identifier provided tothe application program after it has been determined, by at least use ofthe at least one processor and of the location information, that themobile device has at least entered the first area specifically reservedfor delivery of the first identifier related to the application programand has remained therein for at least the predetermined length of time.44. The method of claim 42 wherein the at least one program of computerexecutable instructions further comprises at least one instruction for:in response to receiving, from the application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, a request for having at least a secondidentifier being associated with a second designated geographic area ofinterest provided to the application program after it has beendetermined, by at least use of the at least one processor and of thelocation information, that the mobile device has at least entered thesecond designated geographic area of interest and has remained thereinfor at least a second predetermined length of time, after receiving,from the application program, both a second data string comprising thesecond identifier to be associated with the second designated geographicarea of interest and second geographic data to be used for defining thesecond designated geographic area of interest and to be used with thesecond identifier to establish, in the memory, the second designatedgeographic area of interest as a second area specifically reserved fordelivery of the second identifier related to the application program,after establishing, in the memory, the second designated geographic areaof interest as the second area specifically reserved for delivery of thesecond identifier related to the application program, after storing, inthe memory, a second record comprising the second identifier, and afterdetermining, by at least use of the at least one processor and of thelocation information, that the mobile device has at least entered thesecond area specifically reserved for delivery of the second identifierrelated to the application program and has remained therein for at leastthe second predetermined length of time, delivering, from the secondrecord stored in the memory and to the application program, at leastsecond datum comprising at least the second identifier.
 45. The methodof claim 42 wherein: the at least one instruction for delivering, fromthe first record stored in the memory and to the application program, atleast first datum comprising at least the first identifier includesbeing at least one instruction for delivering the at least first datumafter availability for the first designated geographic area of interestto be reserved for the application program has been positivelydetermined; and the at least one program of computer executableinstructions further comprises at least one instruction for: determiningavailability for the first designated geographic area of interest to bereserved for the application program.
 46. The method of claim 42 whereinthe at least one program of computer executable instructions furthercomprises at least one instruction for: creating a notificationindicating that the mobile device has at least entered the first areaspecifically reserved for delivery of the first identifier related tothe application program and has remained therein for at least thepredetermined length of time.
 47. The method of claim 42 wherein thefirst identifier, in its being associated with the first designatedgeographic area of interest, provides at least identification of aboundary for the first designated geographic area of interest.
 48. Themethod of claim 42 wherein the at least one instruction for receiving,from the application program during its execution in the mobile device,the request for having at least the first identifier being associatedwith the first designated geographic area of interest provided to theapplication program includes being at least one instruction forreceiving, from at least one other application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, one or more other requests for having atleast one or more identifiers each being respectfully associated withone or more designated geographic areas of interest provided to the atleast one other application program after it has been determined, by atleast use of the at least one processor and of the location information,that the mobile device has at least entered the one or more designatedgeographic areas of interest and has remained therein for at least apredetermined length of time.
 49. The method of claim 42 wherein: the atleast one instruction for delivering, from the first record stored inthe memory and to the application program, at least first datumcomprising at least the first identifier includes being at least oneinstruction for delivering the at least first datum after receiving,from the application program during its execution in the mobile device,a data value representing the predetermined length of time and afterdetermining, by at least use of the at least one processor and of thelocation information, that the mobile device, following a designatedstart time and during a designated duration of time, has at leastentered the first area specifically reserved for delivery of the firstidentifier related to the application program and has remained thereinfor at least the predetermined length of time; and the at least oneprogram of computer executable instructions further comprises at leastone instruction for: receiving, from the application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, the data value representing thepredetermined length of time and a data value representing thedesignated duration of time.
 50. The method of claim 44 wherein: thesecond geographic data from the application program comprises at leastone second geometric construct that establishes at least one secondperimeter for defining the second designated geographic area ofinterest; the at least one second geometric construct from theapplication program that establishes the at least one second perimeterfor defining the second designated geographic area of interest comprisesat least one second radius value; the second geographic data from theapplication program further comprises at least one second latitude valueand at least one second longitude value for defining the seconddesignated geographic area of interest; the at least one instruction fordelivering, from the second record stored in the memory and to theapplication program, at least second datum comprising at least thesecond identifier includes being at least one instruction for deliveringthe at least second datum after obtaining the location informationrepresenting at least one physical geographic location of the mobiledevice as determined by the location-determination component; the firstidentifier, in its being associated with the first designated geographicarea of interest, provides at least identification of a boundary for thefirst designated geographic area of interest; the second identifier, inits being associated with the second designated geographic area ofinterest, provides at least identification of a boundary for the seconddesignated geographic area of interest; and the at least one program ofcomputer executable instructions further comprises at least oneinstruction for: receiving, from the application program during itsexecution in the mobile device, the request for having at least thesecond identifier being associated with the second designated geographicarea of interest provided to the application program after it has beendetermined, by at least use of the at least one processor and of thelocation information, that the mobile device has at least entered thesecond designated geographic area of interest and has remained thereinfor at least the second predetermined length of time; receiving, fromthe application program during its execution in the mobile device, boththe second data string comprising the second identifier to be associatedwith the second designated geographic area of interest and the secondgeographic data to be used for defining the second designated geographicarea of interest and to be used with the second identifier to establish,in the memory, the second designated geographic area of interest as thesecond area specifically reserved for delivery of the second identifierrelated to the application program; and determining, by at least use ofthe at least one processor and of the location information, that themobile device has at least entered the second area specifically reservedfor delivery of the second identifier related to the application programand has remained therein for at least the second predetermined length oftime.
 51. The method of claim 50, further comprising: sending, via theparticular application program executing in the mobile device, to the atleast one program of computer executable instructions operating in themobile device: a request for having at least a second particularidentifier being associated with a second particular designatedgeographic area of interest provided to the particular applicationprogram after it has been determined, by at least use of the at leastone processor and of the location information, that the mobile devicehas at least entered the second particular designated geographic area ofinterest; a second particular data string comprising the secondparticular identifier to be associated with the second particulardesignated geographic area of interest; and second particular geographicdata to be used for defining the second particular designated geographicarea of interest and to be used with the second particular identifier toestablish, in the memory, the second particular designated geographicarea of interest as an area specifically reserved for delivery of thesecond particular identifier related to the particular applicationprogram, wherein: the second particular geographic data from theparticular application program comprises at least one second particulargeometric construct that establishes at least one second particularperimeter for defining the second particular designated geographic areaof interest.
 52. The method of claim 51, further comprising: afterreceiving, via the particular application program, the second particularidentifier delivered by the at least one program of computer executableinstructions in response to the at least one program of computerexecutable instructions receiving the second particular data string, thesecond particular geographic data, and the request for having at leastthe second particular identifier being associated with the secondparticular designated geographic area of interest provided to theparticular application program, and after the at least one program ofcomputer executable instructions has determined, by at least use of theat least one processor and of the location information, that the mobiledevice has at least entered the second particular designated geographicarea of interest, displaying, on the mobile device via the graphicaluser interface and via the particular application program, secondcontent associated with the second particular designated geographic areaof interest.